The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (led by Music Director Jacques Lacombe) has launched its 2014-15 season, a series of concerts that includes highlights from Bizet’s Carmen, Saint Saens’ Organ Symphony, pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin in an all-Beethoven program, and celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Conservatoire de musique de Trois-Rivières and of the 100th anniversary of the birth of seminal singer-songwriter, poet, writer, actor and political activist Félix Leclerc. For more information, please visit ostr.ca.

The Niagara Symphony (led by Music Director Bradley Thachuk) has announced its 2014-15 season – a three-series, twelve-concert program designed to appeal to fans of the classics, orchestral pops, and family-oriented programming. Highlights include four recent Canadian works (by Stewart Goodyear, Abigail Richardson, Kevin Lau, and Christos Hatzis), an interesting mix of classics by Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Beethoven, Britten, and Ullmann, and programs celebrating Leonard Cohen, Gilbert and Sullivan, and ABBA. The season also marks a major and exciting transition for the orchestra, as the NSO prepares to move into a brand-new, downtown St. Catharines venue in the fall of 2015. For more information, please visit niagarasymphony.org.

For the third year in a row, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières is presenting its “Classe en résidence” program, an intensive partnership with three different primary schools in the orchestra’s region. Designed not only to polish musical skills, but also to help students focus on goals, cooperate with others, develop self-esteem, persevere in their school work, the program twins eighty-one grade 5 and 6 students with OSTR musicians. The students have taken part in classroom visits, exchanges, master classes, and more. This week, the program culminates with a visit with OSTR Music Director Jacques Lacombe, a trip to Montreal for a rehearsal at Place des Arts, a rehearsal hosted by one of the participating schools, and, on Friday, 18 April, attendance as honoured guests at the OSTR’s Good Friday concert. They will hear music by Denis Gougeon, Haydn, and Fauré. For more information about the “Classe en résidence” program, please visit ostr.ca.

Three Canadian orchestras are participating in Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program this year: the Calgary Philharmonic, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. They join 56 other orchestras around the world selected to participate in the program, which connects orchestras and schools to some extraordinary resources developed by music education experts at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI). WMI provides teachers and students with curriculum guides; workbooks; professional development webinars; concert scripts, repertoire lists, and visual materials; and an array of web resources. Through the program, students participate in active music-making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice or body percussion and take part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied. Last week in both Calgary and Thunder Bay, participating students sang and played recorders with their heroes in the orchestra during a live performance, giving the students the chance to apply the musical concepts they studied throughout the year. For more information about Link Up, please visit carnegiehall.org.

We were delighted to read about the active participation by Canadian orchestras in this year’s Music Monday festivities, scheduled for May 5. Music Monday, now in its 10th year, is an annual pan-Canadian celebration of music, linking student music-makers (and their teachers) with professional musicians, in support of a higher profile for publicly-funded, widely-available music programs in Canadian schools. Hats off to the Vancouver Symphony, Edmonton Symphony and Winspear Centre, National Arts Centre, and Symphony Nova Scotia for their efforts, recently highlighted in the Music Monday newsletter. You can search for activities in your own community here.

Many wonderful artists and ensembles were nominated for Juno Awards in 2014, and only a few could win in their categories. We salute 2014 classical Juno winners:

James Ehnes (in two categories: Classical Album of the Year, Solo or Chamber Ensemble , for the complete works of Prokofiev; and Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Large Ensemble with Soloist, for Concerti of Britten and Shostakovich);

the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (led by Jacques Lacombe) and Marie-Nicole Lemieux (in the Classical Album of the Year, Vocal or Choral Performance, for the world premiere recording of a new work by André Gagnon and Michel Tremblay entitled Lettres de Madame Roy à sa fille Gabrielle)

Allan Gordon Bell (Classical Composition of the Year, for Field Notes)

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières has announced a March 28 deadline for applications to its 30th annual Concours, this year dedicated to voice. The Concours is open to voice students resident in Quebec, New Brunswick or Ontario, between 16 and 30 years of age; the first round will take place April 18 and 19, and the final round (with orchestra) takes place May 24. Past winners of the OSTR competition have built remarkable careers, and they include such fine musicians as Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Wonny Song, Marianne Fiset, Marie-Josée Lord, Stéphane Tétreault, and Gordon Bintner – to name but a few. For more information –and to apply – please visit ostr.ca.

The Juno nominations for 2014 were announced last week, and an impressive list of Orchestras Canada members and friends were honoured in the four relevant categories. In the solo/chamber category, we salute violinist James Ehnes and pianists Jan Lisiecki, Janina Fialkowska, Louis Lortie, and Stewart Goodyear. In the large ensemble (with or without soloist) category, the Junos recognize Angela Hewitt, James Ehnes, Nadina Mackie Jackson and Guy Few (with Toronto’s Group of 27), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the choral/vocal category, we note recordings by Group of 27, Isabel Bayrakdarian and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (with Marie-Nicole Lemieux), and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Alan Gordon Bell, James O’Callaghan, R. Murray Schafer, Stephen Chatman, and Tim Brady vie for the Classical Composition of the Year honours. For more information – and the complete list – please visit junoawards.ca.

On Sunday, January 26, the Conseil Québécois de la Musique presented its 17th annual edition of the Prix Opus, a gala event that celebrates the very best of Quebec’s music scene, including chamber, vocal, jazz, early and (of course) orchestral music. Hearty congratulations to the many Orchestras Canada members and friends who were honoured in many categories.

Last week, the Conseil québécois de la musique announced this year’s finalists for the prestigious Prix Opus, its way of drawing attention to outstanding achievements in Quebec’s lively classical, new music, world music, jazz, and early music scenes. The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on January 26 at 3 p.m. at Montreal’s Salle Bourgie. One hundred and seventy concerts, fifty recordings, ten scholarly articles, and over forty nominations for the nine special prizes were entered into the competition. As usual, Orchestras Canada members are prominent amongst the finalists, and they include Appassionata Chamber Orchestra, Arion, I Musici de Montreal, the Orchestre Metropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Orchestre symphonique de Montreal, Orchestre symphonique de Quebec, Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Quatuor Molinari, and Les Violons du Roy. The complete list appears here.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières kicks off a celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s anniversary year by hosting a talk on the life and work of the great composer by Claire-Émilie Calvert tonight, (November 13) at the foyer Gilles-Beaudoin. The talk precedes a pair of concerts designed to thrill new and existing lovers of Verdi’s music: a performance of his monumental Requiem on November 24, led by Music Director Jacques Lacombe, and featuring soprano Marianne Fiset, mezzo-soprano Renée Lapointe, tenor David Pomeroy, bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus, and a massed choir made up of the OSTR chorus and members of the Symphonic Chorus of the Université de Montréal. At the end of the season, the orchestra and chorus take on excerpts from Nabucco, Macbeth, Il Trovatore, La Traviata and Aïda.

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois- Rivières has announced that it has recently signed a five-year collective agreement with the Guilde des musiciens et des musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ), the group representing its musicians. The agreement covers the period September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2017, and it provides for increases in fees and service guarantees. By the OSTR’s account, the negotiation process was a collaborative one, characterized by goodwill on all sides. Congratulations to all!

The Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, led by music director Jacques Lacombe, has just released its latest recording, a rather special collaboration between composer André Gagnon and novelist/playwright Michel Tremblay. Entitled “Lettres de Madame Roy à sa fille Gabrielle”, the recording features contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, in a creative re-imagining of the correspondence between the writer Gabrielle Roy and her mother Mélina, during the time when Gabrielle was studying in Europe between 1937 and 1939. The work was premiered by the OSTR in November 2012. For more information, please visit ostr.ca.

Orchestras Canada’s Next Generation Leaders program, now in its second year, is a competitive national bursary program designed to help talented future leaders with a keen interest in Canadian orchestras, and under the age of 35, to attend the National Meetings, and engage in in-depth conversations with senior leaders in the field. This year’s NGL participants include:

Culture Track 2014 is the culmination of a decade of national research (fielded 6 times since 2001) that focused exclusively on attitudes, motivators, and barriers of culturally active audiences. LaPlaca Cohen built on existing research studies and dug deeper into what’s really driving or discouraging cultural participation. The findings include a new – broader – definition of culture, how people plan for and engage with organizations and with culture, and how people perceive an organization as worthy of participation or donation, among others.

For twenty years, we have helped many of the world’s leading cultural and creative organizations tell their stories, building more powerful connections that amplify their impact on their communities and the world.

We are the only strategy, design, and full-service advertising firm in the US that exclusively serves the creative and cultural sector. The result is that we have become strategic partners for our clients, addressing needs that no other single resource can.

Our passion fuels our expertise. We thrive on the dynamism of the ever-changing cultural landscape and the opportunities it creates to engage, enlighten, and inspire.

Attesting to our dedication to service and our ability to deliver and sustain results, we have been privileged to work with an unrivaled roster of leading museums, performing arts organizations, architecture firms, orchestras, dance companies, corporate sponsors, foundations, and collectors.

Long & McQuade is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in Canada, with 63 locations from British Columbia to Newfoundland. This means that if you’re a touring musician, you’ll have the benefit of dealing with a familiar store with consistent sales, supplies and service, no matter where your homebase is.

For the last 20 years, I produced concerts with professional orchestras across Canada. Known for strategic integration of innovative ideas and new technology, I helped create partnerships, develop audiences, and bring in new revenue. I love to connect with others who create intriguing projects and get things done. My favorite work identifies community need, creates lasting results, and engages new, young and remote audiences.

Ticketpro Canada Inc. is a leading provider of box office software and online ticket sales and services for entertainment events. We specialize in feature-rich solutions for venues, festivals, event organizations, producers and promoters.

Dean Artists Management specializes in the management of classically trained singers, conductors of singers, and opera stage directors/choreographers. Founded by owner Bruce Dean as the classical music division of The Talent House (www.talenthouse.ca), Canada’s most successful classical agency has branches in Toronto and New York. After twenty years in international arts management, we remain attuned to the trends of the opera and classical music markets, and to the visions of our colleagues and clients.

Working as a team to strategically broaden the careers of established artists, Dean Artists Management is equally known for its ability to nurture and guide emerging careers. Our artists include specialists in both early and contemporary music, carefully chosen cross-over artists, and those directors and conductors who have a particular knowledge of, and affinity for, opera, choral and vocal orchestral repertoire.

Paul Born, author, Ashoka Fellow, and President of Tamarack Institute will give a talk and lead a short workshop inspired by his recent book, “Deepening Community: Finding Joy Together in Chaotic Times”. In chaotic times like these we naturally reach out to each other for security, sense making and belonging. Many years of not really needing each other and over-relying on professional intervention to meet our individual and community needs have left us with diminished skills and resources for community. How can we build community in our lives, our organizations, and in the places we live? Paul’s powerful and often humorous stories provide concrete examples that inspire individuals to reach out to others and work together.

Making its Toronto premiere and marking the 40th anniversary of choreographer Pina Bausch’s legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal, Kontakthof is the crowning achievement of her too-brief career. First staged in 1978, it has earned global praise as a masterful examination of the eternal battle of the sexes; wherein whatever harmony is achieved is ultimately scuttled because male and female forces are inevitably opposed. The setting is a drab dance hall, as separated groups of women and men slowly interact. The need, and quest, for not just intimacy but love ignites a spectrum of actions and reactions, sometimes angrily, often comically, always brilliantly.

Our three facilitators will lead attendees through a Critical Response process, using the Tanztheater Wuppertal performance as the departure point. (A ticket to the performance is included in all meeting registrations.) Deceptively simple, the power of the process is extraordinary: it encourages reflection, connection, and inclusion in group discussions about any complex shared experience. In addition, the facilitator does not need to be an expert on the subject and only requires minimal education on the process itself.

As one of the preeminent insurance brokerage and consulting operations in Canada, Cowan specializes in providing the best value to businesses, organizations and individuals for their insurance and risk management needs. Cowan Insurance Group represents the leading national and international insurance companies in order to provide the best balance of coverage, risk management services and specialized expertise available to each and every client.

What can we do today to initiate positive change for ourselves, our orchestras, our community?

Facilitator-in-chief: Jane Marsland

Orchestras Canada’s new strategic plan is predicated on collaboration – the belief that better collaboration between orchestras will further the cause of orchestral music in Canada, enhance the resiliency of the sector, and make every orchestra stronger. We think OC has a key role to play in facilitating this collaboration – but we need your input!

This conference-closing session will begin with an open forum to confirm topics that you think are the most amenable to a collaborative approach, whether led by members or led by OC (Research and analysis? Collaborative artistic/education projects? Advocacy? Digital strategy? You tell us!)

Move into facilitated breakout sessions for in-depth discussions and rapid prototyping of the ideas your group finds most compelling, and conclude with a report-back to the plenary.

Maggie’s diverse experience in the fields of art, architecture, and design gives her a distinct edge for driving content direction, ideation, and strategic ideas for the cultural world. She has helped to direct messaging, marketing, and communications strategies for renowned national and international projects in the private and public sector that range from urban planning, museums, and performing arts, to education, hospitality, and interactive technology.

Maggie has been involved in the art and architecture world in a variety of ways, including journalism, teaching, curating, and advocating. Before joining LaPlaca Cohen, she was a Senior Manager of Content Strategy, Communications and New Media at the architecture and design firm, Rockwell Group.

Maggie received a MA in Art and Architectural History from The Institute of Fine Arts at NYU, and a BA in English Literature and Fine Arts from Amherst College.

With a background in both the performing arts and the global contemporary art world, Hil brings a diverse range of insights into the cultural landscape and the unique opportunities that organizations possess as they move into the future. Hil received a BA in Art History and a certificate in African Studies from Princeton University, where her undergraduate thesis focused on new models of collaborative art practice spearheaded by burgeoning artists in Kampala, Uganda—where she also assisted in planning for the development of the first multi-disciplinary arts center in the country. Prior to joining LaPlaca Cohen, she interned in the Deputy Director’s Office of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation & Museum.

Hil sits on the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Triangle Club, the oldest touring collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the United States, in which she previously performed as an actress and served as the organization’s President

Robert Fraser (goes by “Bob” to all his friends) has been the bass trombonist in the Victoria Symphony since 1990. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Brandon University, a Licentiate in Trombone Performance from McGill University, and Master of Arts in Musicology/Performance from the University of Victoria.

During the 2005-06 season, Bob was acting bass trombonist of the Calgary Philharmonic, and held a similar position in the Winnipeg Symphony in the fall of 2009; in both instances replacing a musician on sabbatical leave. In addition to his work with the Victoria Symphony, he performs regularly as a trombonist in groups as diverse as the Palm Court Light Orchestra, the Festive Brass (at The Butchart Gardens), and Victoria’s own Renaissance wind band, “A Great Noyse” where he plays an array of wind instruments, including recorder, crumhorn and the ancestor of the trombone, the sackbut.

Besides the trombone, Bob is a chorister, singing with the St. Christopher’s Singers of Christ Church Cathedral, the chamber choir Vox Humana, and the eight-voice ensemble Raincoast Voices. He enjoys lecturing and teaching as well, giving pre-concert talks for the Victoria Symphony and occasional lectures on orchestral music and music history for various groups.

Bob has also worked as a long-time advocate for musicians, as Secretary-Treasurer of the Musicians’ Association of Victoria and the Islands (Local 247, CFM) from 1991-2002, and as Secretary of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) from 2003-2013. In August 2013 he was elected President of OCSM.

Bob occasionally performs music with his wife, Ann, a violinist who specializes in early music. And when he’s not chasing his Abyssinian cat, Jack, around the house, he feeds his addiction to cryptic crosswords and Facebook.

Elaine Calder is one of North America’s most experienced performing arts administrators. Between 1994 and 2012 Ms. Calder held executive leadership positions with the Canadian Opera Company, the National Arts Centre, Hartford Stage, the Edmonton Symphony and the Oregon Symphony, before returning to the Shaw Festival as its Executive Director in September 2012 – a position she held previously, from 1990 to 1994. She has led significant financial recoveries at most of these organizations, primarily by increasing attendance and earned and contributed income, rather than by cutting expenditures. She took the Edmonton Symphony to Ottawa for the NAC’s 2005 Alberta Scene Festival with a program of music by five contemporary Alberta composers, and produced its first recording of the music of John Estacio. Similarly, she took the Oregon Symphony to Carnegie Hall for its triumphant performance at the 2011 Spring For Music Festival, and produced its Grammy-nominated recording of that program, entitled Music for a Time of War. Despite her return to theatre she continues to love the symphonic repertoire and orchestral musicians and so far this year has attended concerts by the orchestras of Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo, Rochester, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Denny Young has held senior fundraising and communications positions in a number of sectors including health, social service, and the arts. He currently serves as a member of the senior management team of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the role of Vice-President, Development. In this position he has the privilege of working with a dedicated team of 14 staff and many passionate volunteers – all tirelessly engaged in developing support for the orchestra’s annual operations and building the TSO’s endowment.

A regular speaker and lecturer on nonprofit management, Denny is also a part-time faculty member at Ryerson University in the Nonprofit Management Program and at Humber College in the Fundraising Management program.

Renaud Legoux is Associate Professor of Marketing at HEC Montréal. He received his PhD in Management with a concentration in Marketing from McGill University. He is the director of the Master in Management of Cultural Enterprises. Before his academic career, he worked as a manager for a professional theater company. His current research interests include arts marketing, consumer satisfaction, and sponsorship.

Jennifer Bryan has dedicated over 10 years of her life to arts marketing. After graduating with an arts degree in music, she quickly realized that the glamorous life of a jazz guitarist was not for her. After being taught by the best in the biz at Humber College, Jennifer learned the marketing ropes at Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. She has since spent 7 years at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and is currently Director of Sales, where she focuses on (and delights in) growing audiences and ticket revenue in this wonderfully challenging cultural landscape.

Paul Born is the President and cofounder of the Tamarack Institute which since 2001 has provided leadership in Canada on issues of citizen engagement, collaborative leadership and community innovation. Prior to Tamarack, Paul Born was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Community Opportunities Development Association one of Canada’s leading community economic development organizations that were recognized by the United Nations as one of the top 40 projects in the world. He was elected into the world’s largest network of social innovators, as a Senior Ashoka Fellow in 2013.

Judy has over 30 years of experience working in the performing arts. Her previous accomplishments include directing and executing touring activity for some of Canada’s most highly respected dance and opera companies, developing and executing strategic marketing campaigns and working in collaboration with an extensive range of arts organizations and arts professionals across Canada, the United States, and throughout the world. Amongst the many projects she is currently working on, she is Program Manager for Ontario Presents where she is responsible for the Ontario Dances and Theatre Connects program, the Audience Demographic Mapping program and CCI’s block booking program. She also has extensive experience dealing with all levels of government funding agencies having worked on contract for the Canada Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage assisting in the launch of the Arts Presentation Canada Program in Ontario. Judy is the 2007 recipient of the National Arts Centre award for distinguished contribution to touring and the 2011 Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture in Ontario.

Sam Varteniuk is General Manager of The Registry Theatre, and Artistic Director of JM Drama Alumni. He has spent 15 years writing, directing, producing, and starring in stage plays, short films, and sketch comedy. Sam has worked extensively in the world of Drama Therapy/Theatre for Social Change, collaborating with mental health organizations, seniors’ communities, and newcomers to Canada to tell their stories; he recently embarked on another such collaboration with KW’s Extend-A-Family.

Daniel Swift, a conductor and a musicologist, was artistic director of two Canadian orchestras, and guest conducted ensembles and orchestras in Canada, Europe and the United States. He currently holds the position of Program Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts. At Orchestras Canada’s 2014 National Meeting, on Friday June 13, he will lead an ideas exchange session on support to Canadian composers and conductors as it relates to the orchestra milieu.

Conductor and musicologist Daniel Swift studied oboe and composition at the Conservatory in Trois-Rivières, music history and musicology at Laval University in Québec, and conducting with Pierre Dervaux and Jean-Pierre Jacquillat in Paris. He has been music director of l’Ensemble instrumental de Trois-Rivières, the Laval University orchestra and of the Ensemble instrumental des Jeunesses musicales du Canada (Montréal). Winner of the Heinz Unger Conducting Award in 1983, he was assistant conductor for Boris Brott with the Hamilton Philharmonic and Uri Mayer with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra before becoming conductor and Music Director of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (1984-1992) and of the Niagara Symphony (1999-2008).

A frequent guest of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Radio-Canada, Mr. Swift has regularly conducted concerts both for regional and national broadcast. He has also guest conducted numerous orchestras in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Particularly interested in the French repertoire, Daniel Swift directed in Paris and New York (1989), a revival of Francis Poulenc’s musical play Le Gendarme incompris, which he rediscovered during musicological research in France. He participated in the preparation of an edition of this work for music publisher Salabert. As well, he has recorded three ballets of French composer Henri Sauguet with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra on the SM5000 label. This CD entitled Parisian Ballets was unanimously recommended by music magazines in Japan, France and the United States.

Daniel Swift has also worked as Music Officer for the Canada Council for the Arts (1992-1999) where, through the years, he managed Sound Recording, New Music, Commissioning, Residencies, Professional Orchestras and Opera/Music Theatre programs.

Jeff Alexander was named to the position of President & CEO of the Vancouver Symphony Society in September 2000. As such, he serves as the chief administrator for the organization, responsible for overseeing board, government and community relations, long-range planning, and day-to-day management for Western Canada’s largest performing arts organization and Canada’s third largest symphony orchestra with an annual budget of over $14 million.

Since his appointment, Alexander has worked closely with VSO Music Director Bramwell Tovey, the organization’s Board of Directors, musicians, staff and volunteers to strengthen every aspect of the organization’s artistic, fiscal, community, governance and administrative activities. With the implementation of a new strategic plan in 2002, subsequent updates, and a wide variety of new programs, the organization has experienced significant growth in subscription and single ticket sales, as well as individual, corporate and government support, resulting in a surplus on annual operations for nine of the last ten years.

Alexander has also supported a number of innovations at the VSO, including the reformatting, expansion and creation of concert series; significant growth in the organization’s educational and community programs and community partnerships; the use of video screens in the concert hall; the Society’s first endowment campaign ($10.2M raised to date); the purchase and implementation of Tessitura (the first orchestra in Canada to own and operate this integrated ticketing/fundraising software package developed by the Metropolitan Opera); the planning and implementation of an Asia-Pacific tour with concerts in Korea, Macau and China in October 2008 (the first international tour for the orchestra in 17 years); a May 2009 tour to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City (the orchestra’s first performances in these cities in 33 years); a January 2013 tour to the U.S. West Coast (the orchestra’s first U.S. tour in 35 years) and the creation of the state-of-the-art 25,000 square foot VSO School of Music directly next to the orchestra’s home, the Orpheum Theatre, now home to over 950 students and 60 faculty members. The result has been a renewed spirit of support and admiration for the orchestra locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Prior to joining the VSO, Alexander spent sixteen years at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, including twelve as General Manager. As such, he was the “second in command” for the sixth oldest and eighth largest orchestra in the United States, with an annual budget of $28 million. In this position, he managed an orchestra of 99 full time musicians, and was responsible for all elements of program planning, concert production, and orchestra relations. He participated in four master agreement negotiations; planned and managed 12 domestic tours, each with concerts in Carnegie Hall, and four international tours, with concerts throughout Europe and Asia.

Alexander was responsible for the production of over sixty recordings and seven national television programs for both the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He served on the Steering Committee which planned activities for the Orchestra’s 100th Anniversary Season in 1995; a 1998 Long Range Planning Task Force; and in 1999 the Music Director Search Committee.
Concurrent with the above, Alexander managed the Cincinnati May Festival, an annual choral festival founded in 1873 for which the CSO is the official orchestra.

Prior to being named General Manager, he served the CSO as Director of Regional and Educational Programs, overseeing all educational activities, and a series of orchestral and chamber music concerts in sixteen communities throughout Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

From 1982 to 1984, Alexander served as General Manager of the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra in Texas and from 1980 to 1982 as General Manager of Grapa Concerts in New York City, an artist management firm specializing in organizing Latin American tours for North American and European soloists and ensembles.

Jeff Alexander is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he majored in French Horn Performance. He has been a member of the League of American Orchestras since 1984 and Orchestras Canada since 2000. He was elected to the Board of Directors of Orchestras Canada in 2001 and during the subsequent ten years served on its Nominating, Executive Director Search and Bylaw Review Committees, was Vice-Chair of the Board from 2005 – 2007, Chair from 2007 – 2009 and in 2010 chaired its Leadership & Professional Development Task Force. He has served on adjudication panels for the Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, YWCA of Greater Vancouver and the Alcan Awards, as well as a member of the City of Vancouver’s 125thAnniversary Advisory Committee, and for six years the Vancouver Foundation’s Arts & Culture Advisory Committee.

An experienced manager with a passion for culture, Thérèse Boutin (President and CEO of l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec) has worked in the arts, education and communications field for most of her 35-year career. Beginning as a journalist with CBC/Radio-Canada, she quickly leaped into the management field, working in media, public administration, education and music, in Ontario and in Québec. Additionally, Ms. Boutin has been a senior partner in a communications and strategic planning consulting company for the past 20 years.

A graduate of Laurentian University, where she obtained a BA in Political Science, Thérèse Boutin also holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from York University, a Masters in Public Administration from Queen’s and an MB from l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.

A woman of action and dedication, she has been a member of various Boards from the Chamber of Commerce to the local Conservatory including schools, choirs community groups.

After leading a successful restructuring of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (2006-2013), she was named CEO of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in May 2013.

She joined the Board of Orchestras Canada in November 2007, was its chair from 2011-2013 and is now past-chair. She has also been on the Board of the Conseil québécois de la musique.

Brian Emmett is an economics graduate of the University of Western Ontario and the University of Essex in England, and has enjoyed a long and distinguished public service career. He was Canada’s first Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the late 1990s and worked extensively on Canada’s Green Plan. He also served as Vice-President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in the early 2000s and has been an Assistant Deputy Minister in a number of federal government departments. As the Chief Economists at Imagine Canada, Brian Emmett measures the impact of the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector and brings economic issues facing charities and nonprofits to the forefront of public policy decision makers.

Paul Wells, political editor of Maclean’s magazine, has reinvigorated Canadian political writing for more than a decade. His career began in Montreal at The Gazette in 1989; in 1997 he became the Gazette’s national affairs columnist, and then moved to the National Post for its launch in 1998. In 2003, he joined Maclean’s, where he has won two gold National Magazine Awards for his writing on politics. A regular commentator for both English – and French – language television and radio, he is also the author of The Longer I’m Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada, which won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing and the John W. Dafoe Prize for Canadian non-fiction.

Arts Consultant, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and ARTS Action Research

Jane Marsland has been an articulate advocate for the arts for many years and has served on a wide range of boards, advisory groups and committees. Jane was co-founder and director of ARTS 4 CHANGE, a three-year program designed to create positive change for and by arts professionals in Toronto, as well as co-founder and Director of Technical Assistance of the Creative Trust: Working Capital for the Arts.

Ms. Marsland has managed arts organizations since 1970 and was General Manager of the Danny Grossman Dance Company from 1982 to 1999. Since 1999, Jane has been working as a free-lance arts consultant and has worked with more than 100 arts organizations. Currently Jane is working with the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and ARTS Action Research on a new community initiative, Theatres Leading Change Toronto involving 18 small and midsized theatre and dance organizations.

She has been the recipient of two arts community awards: a “Harold’ in 2001 and the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in the Arts in 2002. In 1995, she received the first M. Joan Chalmers Award for Arts Administration for outstanding leadership in the arts. In 2011, she was the winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Rita Davies and Margo Bindhardt Cultural Leadership Award.

In January 2012 Jane was awarded the first Metcalf Foundation Innovation Fellowship in the Arts to examine Shared Platforms and Charitable Venture Organizations and their applicability to the performing arts sector in Ontario.

Great pride is taken in marketing and selling Classical music
42 years in the business
Various Sales and Marketing positions throughout the years
1996 to 2003 – Director/VP of Universal Classics and Jazz – grew the department from 15m to 27m
1992 to 1996 – Sales Executive Polygram Classics and Jazz – sold 1 million dollar order to one account
Re-launched Verve records – went from less than 500k to 5m in one year
Worked for GRT Records, Phonodisc, MCA Records, Polygram, Universal and now Naxos of Canada

Some highlights

Cecilia Bartoli- Portraits – 30k – TV Campaign in Quebec
OSM – with Charles Dutoit – Helped sell over a million units of OSM recordings through the years
Classical 5 cd Box sets, – sold 5m a year for almost 7 years in a row – Mozart Experience, Beethoven 1 to 9, Operamania etc.
Discovered a huge crossover market with 3 Tenors, Pavarotti and Friends, Andrea Bocelli, Russell Watson, Diana Krall
Re-launched Verve records – went from less than 500k to 5m in one year